James LaBrie interview

Stig Nordahl: Are you doing OK today?

James LaBrie: Yeah, doing great. We just started this European leg. We started over in Helsinki, and this is our third show. Everything’s going great. We have a lot of production out with us, so the show’s very visual as well as obviously sonic. We’re all pretty happy. We’ve been out since June. We started doing the festival tours. Then we went from there, and we headlined through the United States and Canada, and now we’re on this part of it.

SN: Has the tour been going OK so far? Do you have any bad tours at all? I mean, you’ve been in this game for so many years. You have a lot of people making this happen the right way for you, and you’re so experienced. I guess there are some shows that aren’t top-notch, but is there ever a bad tour?

JL: I think if you wanted to say a bad tour, it wouldn’t be in the case of numbers, like how many people we have in the venue. I think it would be a matter of how the band is interacting, how the band feels about where we are at that particular time in our career. I think the bad tour, if we could call it a bad tour, would have been the Falling Into Infinity tour. There was a lot of unrest and a lot of disconnect. I think a lot of it had to do with going through label changes and management changes. There was personal loss in the band from family members passing away. And then also inter-conflict within the band. It was just growing pains. So that was a very trying time for the band. But I think we overcame it and we saw through it.

I think every band goes through a dark period where they have to either accept one another for who and what they are or they don’t, and then they just split up. But we’ve overcome those particular hurdles in our career. I think we’ve been blessed, if I may say so, because most of the tours have been fun. We usually have packed houses, with the exception that there’s a few that may be half or three quarters full, but that depends on when you’re touring. I find the summer is always a saturated market, no matter where you go. There’s so many bands out there. You got all these festival tours, headlining tours, reunion tours, the novelty tours, all this stuff is going on. And let’s face it, the market can only support so much. There’s only so much money out there. But I think we’ve been really fortunate. I think that all of our tours have been successful.

SN: You said you just finished your North American tour and now you’re here in Europe. Is there a big difference between touring in the different continents or is this just like going back to work?

JL: No, you do notice a bit of differences. One being that when we’re going through North America, we’re playing anywhere from 3,000 people a night to 10,000 people a night. Generally speaking over here, it’s pretty consistent that we’re 5,000 or 10,000 a night. So that might be the difference. The other thing is that we find in North America, the fans are a little bit more conservative. They’re a little bit more laid back. It depends. It depends on where you are. But there are definitely certain cities or areas of North America where I find they’re more reserved. And then the rest of them, they are animated and very vocal, just like over here. But I think as a whole in Europe, they’re very vocal, very animated, very energetic. So it does make a bit of a difference in that sense. If you go into Asia, it’s a bit more conservative. If you go into South America, they’re out of their minds. [chuckles] And the same with Mexico and Latin America and all that stuff. There are subtle differences you can see on how the way people react and the way that they interact.

SN: Do the differences make you more inspired and not burned out or—

JL: I think if you can consistently put out a certain level of energy then you’re going to get that back. It’s more of a challenge if you happen to go out and you notice that the crowd’s a little bit more laid back and not as right in your face, then it’s your job to kind of bring that environment to reality. Either way you’re going out there, you’re pumped as a band, you’re excited about playing in front of that particular city or country or those fans. So I think either way, I think the energy is reciprocated from both sides.

SN: You just had one month off before going to Europe. Did you spend that time only recharging the batteries and thinking about everything else [rather] than Dream Theater?

JL: There’s a complete side of me that just wants to hang with my family and just really catch up on some lost time. Because when you’re touring, you can’t make up that time, or you can’t get back that time. So you try and make the best of it when you are at home to do a lot of things that are more family-oriented. But at the same time, depending on what you’re doing, if you’re in a side project or with myself, if I’m getting ready to do another solo project, then I’m also working on tunes in that sense and trying to find hours of the day where I can put that time aside and just focus in on that. But I usually do that late at night when everybody’s gone to bed or whatever. When at home, you’re trying to really balance things, and definitely, I think the biggest part of it is to recharge your batteries. I think it’s good to get away from this environment and then really be able to come back to it feeling like you’re refreshed and you’re eager to jump back into it.

SN: Well, after one month, is it like you have to go back to rehearsals? I mean, not as much as before the tour, of course, but is it just to go back and do the gig?

JL: It’s like, “let’s go back”, and it was like we only had one day off, and then we’re doing another show. At the beginning of each world tour, we put aside a fair amount of time to rehearse and get everything really tight. I think from that moment on, the way that we might bring new tunes into a setlist or songs that we haven’t played for a while is if we know we’re going to be playing them in a future show, then we practice them at soundcheck. So we rehearse them there so that at the next show, we’ve got it and we feel comfortable with that particular song or songs, however many. I think once you get into a tour, you’re really comfortable and you’re in a groove, you’re in a zone, and you just fall right back into it, no matter if you’re taking three weeks or six weeks off.

SN: Some of my best Dream Theater memories from a live situation is actually from you playing smaller gigs like in Rockefeller here in Oslo. Those were great times. You still do excellent gigs, of course, but you’re getting bigger and bigger. What do you think of playing smaller places compared to big venues like this?

JL: Well, they’re two completely different environments. When you’re in a smaller place, like you said, the Rockefeller, it’s more intimate. I mean, you’re right there, the people are all around you, everybody’s sweating and hot. It’s a completely different situation. You just feel really close to one another. When you’re in an arena like this, you still want to make that connection. That’s the ultimate goal of any show, is that you want to make the people feel like we’re all hanging out, let’s have a great time here tonight. It’s more spacious, there’s no doubt about it. But I think that you can still create an intimacy even in a bigger hall. But they are different. I mean, if you talk to any bands, even the bands that have been around that seem like forever – you talk about the Rolling Stones when they said that they’ll do warm-up acts, and they’ll do a warm-up show at a small club, that being like a 2,000-seater venue, they love it because they miss that because they’re playing either arenas or stadiums. So definitely, I think there’s pros and cons to each environment. But I think it’s also the kind of night you create, too. It really depends on how the band can react to these different environments.

SN: You have played in hundreds, maybe thousands of different places. How well do you remember the places? I mean, you’ve been to Spectrum a lot of times. Do you remember what it looks like and what it’s like before you go?

JL: There’s some places that I don’t. Like, I’ll recognize the name, and then I’m going, “Oh, yeah, what was that place like?” Like yesterday, playing the Globe in Stockholm, and I was going, “Geez, I can’t remember that arena.” And as soon as we pulled up, I went, “Ah, now I know.” I remember how the backstage looked. I remember how the stage area, the whole scope of things looked. So usually I do remember before getting there. And if I don’t, as soon as I do get there, it all comes back from the previous experiences. But yeah, there’s a lot of rooms.

SN: And your favorite places are the ones with great acoustics, your best audience memories or the backstage areas?

JL: Well, the best memories of recent would definitely be Radio City Music Hall when we played there. That was just an incredible night and a great experience. To be honest with you, I mean, when we come back, whether it’s Finland or Sweden or Norway, there’s always great memories because the crowds here really appreciate what we do. We know that they’re into the music because they’re basically singing every fricking word that’s out there. But the other great memories are being down in Italy, playing the Zenith in France, playing in the Ahoy in Holland is always a great experience. We’re playing Wembley in London – that’s gonna be a very cool experience, I’m sure. And then going down into Greece and playing... They’re all great memories, these venues, because I think the ultimate gratification is being able to play a show and seeing people extremely excited/enthusiastic and you’re able to walk off the stage and go wow that was a great experience

SN: You’re well known for changing your playlist every night, and on the internet your fans are speculating what you’re going to play each night and I guess Mike is the one putting it together. When does he present the playlist for the rest of the band?

JL: Well, when we’re starting a leg, he usually presents the playlist at least two weeks, three weeks before we go back out. Usually he’ll have the first three shows setlists set so that we know the songs that are coming up and we can rehearse them through our heads or existentially. But generally, like for an example, we know what we’re playing tonight, and then tomorrow’s the day off, and then at some point tomorrow, we’ll all receive an email from Mike going, “OK, the setlist for Hannover is this.” So then you can just internalize it and prepare yourself for that particular show. That’s usually the way it is. And then he usually has about three shows planned so that you can plan for those three shows and then the next block comes in those three shows, but it’s pretty easy because we have what’s called a master list of all the songs that will ever show up in any setlist.

SN: Approximately how many tracks are on that list?

JL: It’s a lot. Let me tell you, it’s incredible how many it is. But basically it’s going through the whole catalog. So it’s a lot for us to remember and to be prepared for. But you know what? We’ve worked like this for so long that we feel comfortable with it now. And I think that if we were to go and do a tour and play the same songs each and every night, I think we’d become bored. Not only that, I’m sure our fans would too. They’d be disappointed. It’s all for the better; it’s better for our fans because they appreciate knowing that they can hear something different each and every night, and it’s better for us because it keeps us on our toes.

SN: What would be the highlights for you during a show? Is it to play the new stuff or the stuff that people recognize the most? Or maybe tracks that you haven’t done for a very long time?

JL: Well, you just said it all. I think it’s a combination of all of that. It’s playing the new songs because you’re excited about actually digging your heels into the new songs and it feels great and fresh and it’s something new. And then going back and playing the songs that you know have always been really popular songs with the fans, you see that immediate reaction. And being able to go back and pull songs out of the catalog that you haven’t played in a long time, that’s exciting too because you go back into that song and you go, “Oh man, I remember why we were so excited about this song to begin with.” Then you see the reaction out there, people going, “Oh man”, as if “They’re playing this, we haven’t heard it in years,” or whatever. So I think it’s a combination of all of it coming and presenting itself and unfolding throughout the night that makes the night exciting.

SN: As a vocalist, you’ll always have the most vulnerable instrument. Is it OK to sing that much every night? Of course, you have long instrumentals.

JL: I’m in a very different spot now as a vocalist. For many years there, because I had that wicked vocal injury – I ruptured my vocal cords. So for eight years, I dealt with a lot of inconsistencies as a vocalist. Now that’s all in the past and since 2003 everything has really come back online and I feel strong and I feel great each and every night. So I’m in a really great spot right now as a vocalist and I feel that I’m really able to go out there and once again express myself fully as a vocalist like I once did prior to the accident. So it makes me that much more confident, that much more comfortable being out there, and I’m really able to concentrate and focus on my interaction with the fans, whereas before it was always “How do I feel?” or “Is my voice going to be screwed up today?” or whatever. So right now I’m able to really be, I think very evocative with my voice and very expressive with my voice, and being able to just focus on having a great time with it and with the band. And you can see it. When you see the band tonight, you’ll see that we’re all having fun. We’re all having a great time with one another. And I think it really shows, and the fans are really picking up on that. So we’re all in a great spot right now.

SN: Do you ever check the internet? I mean, Google your own name or the band’s name to check out what people think of the shows and what’s going on out there?

JL: Once in a while I do that. I don’t do it too often because I find that there’s always some critic out there that thinks it could have been better or why didn’t they do this or why didn’t they play that. To me, that’s just negative energy, and I don’t like to even give that a nod. I don’t even want to accept that that exists. But the odd time, yeah, I do. And I have to tell you, when I have checked, especially during this tour, it’s all been really, really positive. And with the odd one being upset because we didn’t play this particular song. It’s like, f***, if we had to play every song, we’d be doing six-hour shows, and people would leave. I guarantee it – so would I. But very rarely I’ll check into that stuff. I’ll go on my own site and I’ll correspond with some of the people on there or keep them up to date as to what’s going on, but not very often.

SN: I actually saw a very funny video clip on YouTube last night. It was from a message board with a link. It said that Dream Theater, they’re well known for being fan-friendly – well, almost always. And there was this clip, very old clip, probably from your first tour with Dream Theater, where someone tries to come up on stage. Have you seen that?

JL: I totally remember that night. The crowd was crazy. It was like moshing and just everyone going crazy. And then they started jumping on stage, and I went, “Screw this”, and I hit the guy back out. But the funny thing is they don’t show the rest; the guy, when I knocked him into the crowd, he basically looked up at me like that, so I mean it was all still good. But yeah, it was pretty, pretty crazy night I totally remember that; that was from the Images tour.